Bear attacks 15 year old and mother

[moosmom]

Bear Escapes From Cage, Attacks Ohio Woman

ORWELL, Ohio (AP) - A 500-pound bear escaped from an animal breeder Monday, entered a neighboring home and attacked a woman, a state wildlife officer said.

The victim was expected to survive, and the bear was lured out of the house and shot to death by the breeder, said Reno Reda of the state Department of Natural Resources wildlife division.

The owner of Grand River Fur Exchange, Mark Gutman, was attempting to enter the bear's cage to clean it when the animal escaped, Reda said.

The bear walked into a neighbor's garage, Reda said. A 15-year-old girl saw the animal and fled into the house, but the bear pushed the door open behind her and followed her inside, Reda said.

The girl's mother, Rachel Supplee, 36, was attacked in a nearby room, Reda said.

She was in satisfactory condition Monday night at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, Reda said, but details on the injuries to several parts of her body weren't available.

The bear was shot about 20 minutes after it escaped. Gutman immediately called authorities, as required, when the bear broke loose, Reda said.

The bear was about 9 years old and raised in captivity, making it unafraid of people, Reda said.

Gutman is licensed for commercial game propagation, which allows him to breed animals and sell the offspring, Reda said. His business is in Hartsgrove Township, 50 miles east of Cleveland.

No charges had been filed and the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office was reviewing the matter, Reda said. The sheriff's office didn't return a phone message Monday night.

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Why did they have to kill the bear?? Haven't they heard of tranquilizer guns? This bear was raised in captivity and wasn't afraid of humans. Why didn't they just tranquilize him and relocate him??? Such a waste.

RIP Mr. Bear.

[Daisy and Delilah]

That's way too drastic!! They didn't have to kill the bear. People make me so angry sometimes!

[Catty1]

And where are you going to put a tranquilized bear where you can be sure he won't escape again?

He had attacked two people already, so he wouldn't be scared of other people - he might well have attacked whoever had a tranquilising gun.

I have Googled to find out the range of a tranny gun, and can't find anything - but I bet you have to be a lot closer to the animal than you would with a regular gun.

JMO

Catty1

[Maresche]

This happened practically in my backyard (I'm just east of Cleveland) and is causing a whole bruhaha up here. Apparently the bear's owner has hundreds and some say thousands of animals on his property and what I saw on the news last night showed that they weren't being kept in the best conditions. The owner is breeding and raising these animals to sell for commercial purposes. I can't help but think fur trade and/or canned hunts. The whole situtation is being investigated.

As far as shooting the bear, I feel bad that the bear got out, he shouldn't have been there to get out of his cage. But, he broke into a woman's house and attacked her completely unprovoked. I'm not sure what else you could do with him. The owner was the one who shot and killed the bear.

[Jo-Anne]

We have a big problem with bears around here.. They used to have a spring bear hunt but then the govt changed it to the fall... Last August alone they removed over 300 nuisance bears from town here..

[king2005]

I think the breeder was in the right to shoot his bear... It had attacked someone & it was a good decission on his part as he was able to stop anyone else from getting hurt right away.

If I had a dog & it got loose & attacked someone & was a threat, I would have done the same to prevent anyone else from getting hurt or killed.

Its a sad end, I agree, but its not a waste.. if hes smart, the bear will be used & sold, as you can eat bears.

[Miss Z]

I feel so bad that the bear had to be shot. Bears are such magnificent creatures. I also hope the woman gets better soon.

[elizabethann]

Breeding bears? What's wrong with that sentence?!

Maresche, when I read this story I thought about caged hunting - which totally disgusts me. Would you mind keeping us posted on what happens to this a$$?

Daisy and Delilah, I wish they didn't have to kill the bear either. But under the circumstances, it really had to be done. Poor bear and most of all, poor family.

[Maresche]

I can't find the story online anymore. I guess it has become yesterday's news.

But on the news yesterday they said they were still investigating to see if the owner/breeder could be brought up on any charges. They legislature is also looking into changing the law so you need more than a $40 permit to own/breed bears, like a cage of a certain size and structure. Yes, currently you can own a bear in Ohio without a cage after shelling out only $40.

On a much more positive note, the woman attacked by the bear has been released from hospital.

[pitc9]

This guy is less than 20 miles from me.
He has almost 700 wild animals on his property.
This is from the news:
"Gutman's license applications shows he had 692 animals: 322 foxes, 150 coyotes, 12 bobcats, seven wolf-hybrids, four black bears, two mountain lions and a lynx."

He breeds the animals to sell and for their fur and urine.
I know a person that bought a coyote from him.
Here's a link with all the info:
http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp...8&nav=menu68_2

[Miss Z]

This guy is less than 20 miles from me.
He has almost 700 wild animals on his property.
This is from the news:
"Gutman's license applications shows he had 692 animals: 322 foxes, 150 coyotes, 12 bobcats, seven wolf-hybrids, four black bears, two mountain lions and a lynx."

He breeds the animals to sell and for their fur and urine.
I know a person that bought a coyote from him.
Here's a link with all the info:
http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp...8&nav=menu68_2

[Maresche]

Angie,

Thanks for the links.